Minefield (Archive photo)
צילום אפי שריר
Estimate: Minefield death due to navigational error
IDF officials say Givati Brigade troops walked into minefield in southern Lebanon despite the fact that it is well-known that mines were placed in area during 1980s; soldier killed, several others wounded in incident
IDF officials estimate that the Givati Brigade troops who walked into a minefield in southern Lebanon Wednesday morning did so due to a navigational error.
A soldier was killed in the incident, while the commander of the company, a captain, and another soldier sustained serious wounds; the battalion commander, a lieutenant general, was moderately injured. Several other troops sustained light injuries.
The three troops hurt in the incident were taken to Haifa's Rambam Hospital in helicopters. Hospital officials said the two were hospitalized in the intensive care unit while the third one was taken in for surgery.
The IDF estimations that the troops entered the area due to a navigational area are based on the fact that it is known that mines were placed in the area as early as the 1980s; however, the incident is still being investigated.
More than 25 soldiers entered the area after returning from reconnaissance activity in south Lebanon. Later, an IDF engineering vehicle was brought in to the area and assisted in evacuating the forces from the minefield. There were no reports of any Hizbullah activity to disrupt the rescue efforts.
IDF Engineering Corps soldier lost his leg
Upon entering a minefield IDF forces are trained to implement what is known as the “taxi driver” procedure, in which the troops are supposed to remain stationary and wait for rescue forces.
“When a force moves in an area filled with mines it is supposed to walk along a marked path, and it is not clear why the soldiers diverted from it and entered the minefield,” an army official said.
During the fighting in the north a convoy of IDF tanks belonging to a reserve unit drove over mines that were not marked in the map as anti-tank mines. Two weeks a go an IDF Engineering Corps soldier lost his leg while stepping on a mine during activity in south Lebanon’s eastern sector.
